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Winchester Model 1894 Classic Gun Review By Chuck Hawks

Winchester Model 1894 Classic Gun Review By Chuck Hawks Illustration courtesy of U.S. Repeating Arms Co., Inc. Probably the most famous, and certainly the most popular, hunting rifle in history is the Winchester Model 1894.

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Winchester Model 1894 Classic Gun Review By Chuck Hawks

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  1. Winchester Model 1894 Classic Gun Review By Chuck Hawks Illustration courtesy of U.S. Repeating Arms Co., Inc.

  2. Probably the most famous, and certainly the most popular, hunting rifle in history is the Winchester Model 1894. • The Model 94 was the first sporting rifle to sell over 1,000,000 copies. No other sporting rifle has approached those numbers, and it is unlikely that one ever will. • In 1894 when John Browning completed his design and Winchester began to market it, none of this success was assured. In fact, the Model 1894 was a ground breaking sporting rifle; the first chambered for the (then) new smokeless powder cartridges. It was a big leap forward, and a big gamble. • The Model 1894 could, like the first Colt double action revolvers and many other firearms that were ahead of their time, have been a commercial flop. In which case it would be only a historical footnote today. But, as it turned out, the Model 1894 appeared at exactly the right time, and the rest is history. • The Model 94 has been offered in a bewildering number of variations. I counted 14 versions of the Model 94 in the 2005 Winchester catalog alone! But for this Classic gun test we are going back to the beginning, with a Model 1894 saddle ring carbine (serial #63,xxx) produced in 1896, just a year after the introduction of the .30-30 cartridge for which it is chambered. The .30-30 Winchester is the cartridge that has became synonymous with the Model 1894 rifle. Introduced in 1895, the .30-30 was the first North American sporting cartridge designed for use with smokeless powder.

  3. Illustration courtesy of Hornady Mfg. Co. • The .30-30 is a .30 caliber cartridge that was originally loaded with 30 grains of the new smokeless powder, which is the source of its name. • The old factory loads used bullets weighing 160-165 grains.For a time during the early 20th Century the .30-30 Winchester was also known as the .30 WCF (for "Winchester Center Fire"), and occasionally still is. But its original ".30-30" name is the one that stuck and is most commonly used today.The .30-30 ushered in the modern era of high velocity cartridges. It quickly became the most popular hunting cartridge in North America, and is widely credited with killing more North American game than any other cartridge. It also developed big followings in South America, Europe and Australia, so the .30-30 is a true worldwide rifle cartridge. • For a very long time the .30-30 has been the best selling, or one of the best selling, rifle cartridges on the market. It remains so today.There are a number different of factory loads available for the .30-30, as virtually every ammunition manufacturer offers the caliber. The most typical modern factory loads use a 150 grain bullet at a muzzle velocity (MV) of 2390 fps or a 170 grain bullet at a MV of 2200 fps. .30-30 ammunition today is loaded to a SAAMI maximum average pressure (MAP) of 38,000 cup (it used to be higher) in deference to the many old .30-30 rifles still in use --such as our test rifle! The Model 1894 carbine reviewed for this article is in good mechanical condition. Its original blue metal finish is worn from honest use, but the action is tight and the bore of its 20" round barrel is clean. The black walnut stock with its "shotgun" style steel butt plate also shows wear but is generally in good shape. • This rifle could still feed a family, or defend the family ranch, if called upon. It wears only iron sights, in this case a Marble's semi-buckhorn rear and a blade front sight.

  4. The basic specifications of our old Model 1894 saddle ring carbine are as follows: • Caliber - .30-30 Winchester • Magazine capacity - 6 cartridges • Barrel length - 20" (round) • Twist - 1 in 12" • Trigger pull weight - 7 pounds • Length of pull - 13" • Length overall - 37 3/4" • Weight - 7 pounds • For many years the standard factory loads for the .30-30 Winchester have included 150 grain and 170 grain flat point bullets of either JHP or JSP design. The ballistic coefficient (BC) for the Speer 150 grain bullet is .268 and the sectional density (SD) is .226. For the 170 grain Speer bullet, BC is .304 and SD is .256. • The standard 150 grain factory loads from the major ammo companies have a muzzle velocity (MV) of 2,390 fps (formerly 2,400 fps), and 1,902 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy (ME). The 170 grain factory load has a MV of 2,200 fps, and a ME of 1,827 ft. lbs. In addition, Winchester offers a premium Supreme factory load with a 150 grain Power-Point Plus bullet at a MV of 2480 fps with 2049 ft. lbs. of ME. Factory loaded 125 grain bullets at 2,570 fps and 160 grain bullets at 2,300 fps are sometimes offered. And Remington offers their Accelerator load, a 55 grain .224" PSP saboted bullet at a MV of 3400 fps.

  5. Set up a scoped .30-30 so that the Winchester Supreme 150 grain factory load strikes dead on at 200 yards and the trajectory looks like this: +3.3 inches high at 100 yards, +2.8 at 150 yards, 0 at 200 yards, -5.7" at 250 yards, and -14.7" at 300 yards. The point blank range of a .30-30 set up this way is almost 250 yards for deer size animals. • Here are some basic .30-30 specifications of interest to handloaders: bullet diameter .307-.308", maximum COL 2.455", maximum case length 2.039", MAP 38,000 cup. • Medium burning rate rifle powders work best in the .30-30 with bullets in the popular 150-170 grain weight range. Examples of popular powders include IMR 3031, IMR 4895, H335, H4895, RL-15, and W748. For decades I have used IMR 3031 behind the 150 grain Speer or 150 grain Sierra Flat Point bullets and CCI or Winchester primers with excellent results. • The Hodgdon Data Manual No. 26 shows that 31.0 grains of IMR 3031 powder will drive a 150 grain bullet to a MV of 2184 fps, and 33.0 grains of IMR 3031 will drive a 150 grain bullet to a MV of 2364 fps. • The same source shows that 30.0 grains of H4895 powder will give a 170 grain bullet a MV of 1919 fps, and 32.0 grains of H4895 will give the 170 bullet a MV of 2212 fps. • An unusual load with very low recoil that is excellent for plinking and small game or varmint hunting with a .30-30 rifle is a 100 grain bullet in front of 15.0 grains of SR 4759 powder for a MV of 1834 fps, or 18.0 grains of SR 4759 for a MV of 2034 fps. These loads give excellent accuracy in my Winchester Model 94.

  6. .30-30 cartridge between .223 Remington (left) and .308 Winchester (right)

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